A Timeless Hawk
by King-of-Horror
Summary: A story revolving around the Four Horsemen and an unlikely hero. A girls journey begins with the death of her sister in the year 1871, and a premonition of the apocalypse to come in 2010. Equipped with supernatural abilities passed down from her father, and the loyalty of a close friend named Gabriel, the girl sets forth on a journey through time to save the world she loves.
1. The Holt Sisters

A/N: Alright! This is what I like to think of as a "unique" story. Though it may not seem like it at first, the Winchesters will tie into the story, though not in the way you may think (but much later on!).

Gabriel and the Four Horsemen play huge roles in this story, and along the way, a bunch of other characters who we should have seen more of in the show will make appearances!

This fic is broken up into "Notes" and "Chapters". A Note is like a prologue for the chapter that follows it, and every note and chapter have a specific date and time that help to organize the story.

P.s This does get gory at times as it is sort of a horror story (like supernatural should be!), and strong language will be used later on. Thanks for reading and I hope you stick around for further chapters!

Good luck!

* * *

**Note #1:** The Holt Sisters

**Date:** April 15th, 1871

**Location:** Munich, Germany

**Start Time:** 2:04 PM

* * *

Heavy rain fell in thick strands from the gray sky above them.

The smell of wet dog ever-present as the little girls legs struggled to keep up with those of her big sisters.

"Keep going! We can't go back!" Her sister yelled.

Though her feet ached horribly, she continued to run as fast as she could away from the burning building.

Tears pooled in her irritated red eyes as she coughed into the sleeve of her oversized fur coat. She only wanted to stop, to relieve the pain in her stomach, and to bring their home back, but her sister kept running, so she did too.

Screams sounded all around them as fire spread to nearby houses. The pale-faced girls could only watch in horror as house after house transformed into a blazing inferno.

The smaller girl stopped for a moment, but her older sister was there in an instant to keep her moving.

"Don't stop!" She yelled. The smaller girl could only nod shakily as her knees continued to buckle beneath her as she ran.

An explosion behind the girls sent blistering heat racing up their backs, and the youngest fell forward.

A fresh patch of angry red scrapes now littered her fragile shins, and her older sister was by her side once again. Quickly grabbing her sister's hand, the two ran to the side of a crumbling post office in order to hide.

Tears ran rampant down the younger girls face due to the pain in her legs, and the wall where the two hid provided little cover from the rain.

The older sister turned to the only sibling she had left. Cupping the little girls bruised face in her hands, she tried to talk some courage into her little sister.

"What is your name?" She shouted over the thundering rain.

The smaller girl looked down. She was cold and scared, and that _smell_ kept getting closer and closer. Could her older sister really not smell it?

"Please Maria we must go!" She shouted back desperately.

"Look me in the eyes! What… Is your name?" The older girl insisted.

"Emma..." the little girl replied in a whisper.

"Emma what?" Maria questioned almost angrily.

"Emma Holt!" the little girl yelled back.

"Good! And do you know what that means?" Maria asked as she squeezed her little sister's chubby, bright red cheeks.

"No…" the smaller girl replied.

"It means that you're a Holt silly. It means your strong… it means _we _are strong…. Remember what mother said before she…" The older sisters breath caught in her throat as she trailed off.

Mother was dead, and they would be too unless she did something. She released her younger sisters grim looking face from her hands, and placed her palms on Emma's small shoulders instead.

"Its just you and me from now on ok? I'm your big sister and I am going to keep you safe. Just like that time I kept those bees from stinging you. Remember?" Maria said softly, though she couldn't keep the authoritative tone out of her voice.

The last thing she wanted was to scare her sister further, but with the _dogs_ getting closer, bravery could be the only thing to save her younger sisters life. Emma sniffled silently before opening her mouth to respond.

"But you're only seven! And we both got stung…" She retorted as sobs began to rack her tiny body.

"Yeah well you're six! I'm older and that means I'm the boss so…" Maria's voice trailed off as the sounds of booming footsteps resonated nearby.

The Holt sisters froze in fear, and all the breath inside of them fled their bodies. Sheer terror overcame their every thought and emotion, and as the two came face to face with the mangled and torn head of a hellhound, no words could describe the nearly _painful_ fear that now coursed through them at that moment.

Seeing a hellhound was nothing like either of them had expected. The burns and scars that littered its face seemed fresh as puss seeped from a particular cut by its mouth (or perhaps the cut _was_ a mouth). But the smell… Rotting carcasses mixed with raw sewage wafted into the children's noses, making each of their stomachs churn in disgust. It felt as though hours were passing in seconds as the tar black pits at the front of the hellhounds skull seemed to be _watching_ them.

Emma was scared into a stiff non-moving stupor, but then, Maria jolted forward towards the hound.

The huge jaws of the beast opened incredibly fast, and just as they where about to close around Emma's older sisters midsection, Maria screamed, and a bright flash blinded them.

Thunder had struck the ground at their feet, affectively sending Emma flying into a building not far from where they were standing with the hellhound. Hazy pulses of pain ran through her skull as she struggled to open her eyes.

"Maria!" She cried as she forced herself to stand. "Maria!"

There was no response, but to her surprise, the rain seemed to have slowed its assault on the streets of Munich. The smell of fear mixed with wet dog had also left, but an ominous feeling quickly crushed the relief that the disappearing hound had brought her.

A sudden cutting feeling in Emma's gut made her fall to her knees. Her thin stockings tore against the broken glass and rubble that littered the ground around her as she fell. She opened her mouth to scream, to cry, to do anything, but nothing would come out. What was that _feeling _in her body?

Emma felt… empty inside. It was as if a part of her had been _cut out._

Sudden realization made her gasp as she turned her head to look behind her.

Through all of the pain and cold, the only thing she could focus on was the body of a small girl about fifteen meters away from her.

"Maria?" She whimpered as she edged herself closer. That must have been the cutting feeling in her center. Maria had died.

Suddenly, the stench of hellhounds rushed back ten times stronger than before. The angry snarls of the wild beasts cut through the air so loudly it made Emma sick to her stomach.

The little girl now panicked as she crawled franticly on her stomach over jagged chunks of brick and shattered glass to get to her sisters unconscious body.

"Maria please, we have to go!" she yelled.

A pool of blood now formed a wide circle around her sisters body, and its edges began to slide under Emma's bruised and cut hands. As her hazy vision began to clear, the little girl soon realized that her sister certainly was not going to be okay. Maria was torn apart.

Her left leg was gone, and what remained of her sisters left arm was badly broken. Maria's fingers were twisted at odd angles, and most of the skin on her forearms had burned away in the thunder. Though it looked like she was sleeping, Emma had seen that peaceful look before. Her sister was dead, and the sight of her lifeless eyes made vomit rise into her sore throat.

The blonde haired girl turned away from her older sister as she tried not to throw up. With the shock of seeing her protector's bloodied body now ebbing away, confusion quickly took its place as she struggled to remember what had happened.

"Maria…" Emma whispered as she closed her eyes. Her small hands balling into fists as she set her lips into a firm straight line. She was too afraid to leave her sisters side, but if she didn't, then maybe she would be torn apart by thunder as well.

Her feet weren't working the way she wanted them too, but the decision to move came easily once the smell of dog came rushing over her.

She turned, and with each agonizing step, the dogs came closer and closer. Her growing panic made a painful lump of fear grow in her chest, and the intense feeling of falling suddenly swarmed her senses.

"_I'm so scared. Maria please. I'm so scared."_ She thought to herself as she struggled to fill her lungs with air. Being only six years old, she had already seen the dead bodies of the two people she loved most, and the taste of her own blood left her feeling sick as a cut above her eye continued to bleed.

The girl fell to her knees once more with a painful crack against the uneven cobblestone, and with her small hands now slick with blood… She turned… Slowly.

But not to see the hellhounds that where going to rip her apart, but to see her sister's oddly peaceful face just once more before she… died.

Surprise shook her as her eyes fell on the spot where her sister lay dead.

Her sister's body was gone… And in its place now stood a man.

"No" She whispered in disbelief. Tears sprang back into her eyes as she desperately tried to appear strong as Maria instructed only moments ago.

The man smiled, fully displaying his blackened teeth and red stained tongue. He was rough looking, and his pale white skin practically shone when compared to the bright red cloak he wore. Hideous scars formed odd patterns across his face, and the delicate black of his hair contrasted his harsh features. But above all else, the most noticeable of the man's features were his piercing green eyes.

Then she saw what was standing on either side of him. A crimson horse with several black eyes and a mane of fire stood to his right, and to the left, a hellhound.

All the breath inside of the small child left her once again. She was so young, how could she outrun it? How could she fight it? All the blood in her body felt frozen, but for some reason, it kept pouring itself all over her coat from the cut over her eye.

Through all of the pain racing through her body, Emma still only cared about one thing. What had happened to her sister's body? Maybe the dark haired man took it… Well he couldn't take it… She would have to be brave, just like Maria was. She would have to fight back no matter how slim the chances of survival were. She new, that from now on, she would be the only one to protect herself from bees.

Emma took a deep and stabilizing breath before getting into a running position. She could practically hear her sister chiding her for not running away, but she was to angry to do as her inner voice said. Allowing herself to cry harder than she had ever cried before, the girl took a running start at the red man.

She squeezed her eyes shut as she screamed and forced her weak legs to move. She continued to run, and run, and run, but for some reason, it felt as though she where running through thick and heavy mud. As her pace slowed, she noticed something else that was out of place. The sound of rain and thunder… it had stopped.

Emma opened her eyes and stopped running. She gasped as she looked around her to find that every drop of rain she could see had suddenly frozen in mid air. They looked crystal clear as they hung motionless all around her. She felt weightless as she lifted her head to look at the red-cloaked man in front of her. She found, to her delight, that he was frozen as well.

Sparing a moment to look around, she found that the people had stopped screaming, smoke had stopped rising, and the fire stopped dancing with the rain. There was no sounds. No scents. No anything. It was as if everything except herself were frozen in time.

The little girl turned her attention back to the red man, his twisted smile still hung awkwardly on his pale and scarred face.

"Please." She said quietly as she stared blankly into his cold green eyes.

"Please, we only-" Emma's words were cut short by a sudden and sharp pain in her left eye. Cupping a hand over half of her face, she fell to the ground in agony.

"_I hate this. It hurts! This isn't fair…"_ Emma thought to herself as she stopped struggling against the overwhelming pain in her eye.

She turned over from her side in order to lie on her back. Gravel now dug fiercely into her shoulder blades, but at this point, she didn't care. For some reason, it felt as though she had all the time in the world to just lay there in the dead silence.

Suddenly, a deep whooshing noise shocked her out of her agonizingly peaceful state, and she fell into what felt like a giant puddle of water.

Gasping for air, the girl kicked for the surface of what she now assumed was a lake. The sound of men and woman chatting loudly flooded her senses, and the smell of freshly baked bread and salted meats overwhelmed her nose.

"H-help!" the little girl yelled with all her might. She couldn't swim, and the sudden switch of scenery left her feeling light headed and exhausted. Someone was suddenly at her side in the water, then someone else, and then yet another person joined in on the effort to hoist her up and out of the water.

Where had she just gone? How did she even get there? Was this part of the abilities her mother was talking about? No matter what the answer was, Emma Holt now knew the full extent of her _gifts_.

At the age of six, she had successfully escaped War and his hellhounds. She had seen her sister die, and she promised to become the undoing of the four horsemen her mother had talked about.

The little girl frowned faintly at the silent promise she made to herself. Though she was still a child, she new that she could surpass her sister's strength, and live up to her mother's kindness.

As she drifted out of consciousness in the arms of a stranger, Emma thought back to something her sister had once told her.

"Don't be sad if someone leaves you." She had said with a foolish frown etched onto her face. "You'll look like a baby, and like mother says, you will see them again."

* * *

Time flowed normally once more on the street where Emma once lay. The suspended rain now poured over the blood stained streets, washing away any trace of the Holt sisters fight for survival.

To War, the child he was pursuing had simply vanished in mid stride. He frowned deeply at the sudden turn of events.

"Dumme kleine rote mädchen" He said with a light chuckle. The hellhound at his side snarled as it wildly searched the air for any trace of Emma's scent, but to no avail.

"Silly silly silly little red girl, you'll join your sister soon."


	2. The Messenger

**A/N: Alright... In this chapter we find out a little bit more about Emma. She meets someone she won't soon forget, and I just want to say that over the next three chapters, everything about her will be revealed (oops... spoiler? nah whatever.) But just some context! Its been about forty-three years since her sister died, and Emma's abilities have grown more than she could ever imagine. This chapter is like an introduction to the two main characters of this story, Emma and Gabriel.**

**But big thanks to EmmaMarie for your review :)! I appreciated it so much and it made my heart do a flip!**

**But without further delay...**

* * *

**The Timeless** and: The Messenger

**Date:** September 13th, 1914

**Location:** New York, America

**Start Time:** 12:00 PM

* * *

_The blade clanged against the hardwood floor as Emma hit the ground. She struggled to breath as she looked up at the reaper. _

_A hellhound stood close behind, and it was then that her worst fear was realized. _

_Quickly looking at the analog clock on the wall beside her, she memorized the time. It read 2:50pm.  
_

"_Don't worry child, I'll make this quick" the reaper said without a hint of emotion in it's voice. _

_Emma wiped blood from the side of her mouth, and closed her eyes as she focused with all her might on tuning out the world around her. _

"_Say goodbye to the Robinsons." The reaper said as he raised the knife high into the air. _

_Warm blood sprayed itself all over Emma's face as she continued to focus as hard as she could on turning back time. _

_This attempt was a failure._

_She would have to start over._

* * *

Emma gasped loudly as she found herself standing in front of her bathroom mirror. She stood naked as she frantically looked around the room. A small faded gray clock sat beside the bathtub to her right; it read 12:00 PM. Taking slow and panicked breaths, she shakily took note of the time, and tried to force herself to calm down.

Her original fear quickly turned to anger as she punched the mirror with all her might. It shattered as pieces of glass fell to the ground around her feet producing a loud crashing sound. Blood dripped from her already hurting knuckles, and with a grunt, she waved her hand over the broken frame of the mirror. It's pieces slid backward through the air and sealed back to their original positions as she frowned at the red marks on her hands.

Adrenaline pumped through her body as it always did when a hellhound was near, but the danger was over, or at least it was for the next few hours.

Looking down at her bathroom sink, she found a bright red apple sitting elegantly beside a pack of Lucky Strike Cigarettes.

God… She was sick of seeing those things.

"_Noon already_…" She thought to herself as she idly took a bite of the apple. Juice ran down her chin as she looked up from the sink and into her freshly unbroken mirror.

A girl with pale skin and far too much blonde hair stared back at her. Bare shoulders looked boney as her eyes traveled further down her own body. A new scar was forming on her stomach, and bruises around her wrists made her wince as she remembered how they had gotten there.

"_Just relax Emma… You did all you could."_ She thought to herself as she took in the grim picture that was herself.

She continued to look herself up and down as she realized just how tired she was. She was much to thin, and her hair swayed gently in the cool breeze from the open window behind her. The red and purple blotches that stained her knuckles ached as she moved to smooth some hair out of her face.

This was her _third_ try at reliving the past three hours, and she still hadn't successfully saved that family. A lump of fear grew in her stomach as she forced herself to calm down. Taking slow and deep breaths, the girl managed to stop herself from screaming as she turned away from her mirror and walked into her bedroom.

* * *

Thank god the electricity was back on. It had been a few days since she had any, and cold showers were really loosing their appeal. Allowing herself to collapse onto her bed, Emma reached out with her mind and flung open her wardrobe doors.

She had to do things right this time. She never imagined that the affects of time travel would be this taxing on her body, but forcing back the hands of time can do that to a person.

With a defeated sigh, she closed her eyes and found a pair of light colored stockings in the bottom drawer.

Slipping into her usual light clothing, she fluffed out whatever wrinkles remained as her dress flowed down to cover half of her shins. A small smile grew on her face at the smell of fresh soap and lavender as she twirled a little just to watch her dress float around her.

She took one quick look around her apartment before she headed out just in case she had forgotten something, and of course, she saw her white satin handbag sitting pristinely on her kitchen table. As she huffed in annoyance at her display of complete and utter foolishness, the girl let herself smile as she realized that her, the psychic, always seemed to forget her handbag before going out.

Humming one of her favorite songs, Ave Maria, she took one last look in her bathroom mirror. As she swept a large portion of her hair up and over her shoulders, she couldn't help but feel hurt as she remembered how her sister used to play with it on cool afternoons like this.

"_Christ Emma…"_ She thought to herself as she bit her lip. "_It's been forty-three years just drop it_."

Forcing herself to forget about the past, the tired girl instead focused on the song she was humming.

With a final glance at her face, making sure no hair was out of line, she turned from the mirror and looked around her living space once more for good measure.

It hadn't been long since she moved in, and the only possessions she had in the large two-room apartment was a king sized bed, about a dozen clocks scattered around each room, and an oak wardrobe filled with various dresses. She didn't have much, but she never really needed many things anyway. With reapers constantly searching for her, along with War and his beasts always close behind, she never stayed somewhere for more than a few months.

Taking a deep and stabilizing breath, the girl let herself loosen up as she turned away from the chipped walls of her apartment, and headed for the door. Quickly throwing on a light overcoat as she did so.

* * *

Deciding to pull her hair into a tight braid, she made her way through the apartment building.

Emma couldn't help but think about how exhausted she was as she ran out of breath from simply walking down the stairs. But as usual, people needed her more than she needed rest. This would be the fourth case she would take on this week, and with the number of reapers in the city increasing each day, she feared for the worst.

Though she looked about eighteen years old, Emma turned forty-nine in April, but thanks to her _father_, time didn't necessarily have the same affect on her as it did on other humans.

She always got mixed looks when leaving her apartment, but she knew better than to think anything of it. It was astonishing for folks to see a _young girl_ such as herself living alone with no man to keep her company, but she didn't mind. As long as no one asked questions, she didn't have a problem.

"_Oh boy, here we go_", she thought to herself as she walked past a group of boys (though she liked to call them _monkeys _due to the mental resemblance). One of them spotted her instantly, and the rest of their eyes flashed upwards as she walked by.

She groaned inwardly as she held her head up high. She slowed her pace as she spared them all a glance. Gosh, one of them looked like he was drooling!

She giggled innocently as she winked at the youngest looking boy. He smiled widely in response.

Outwardly, she always seemed flirting and wild towards them, but on the inside, she never liked them much.

Humans that is. In fact, she hated them.

After all that happens to them, all they go through, they never learn. Of course, she couldn't forget the fact that she herself was part human, but if she could, she would rip that part out.

"_Men are so simple_" she thought to herself as she left the boys behind. Her innocent smile falling back into its usual scowl as she checked the time once more.

Reminding herself that today's journey to the _outside world_ was not one of leisure, the blonde haired girl decided to let go of her current feelings, and focus on the task at hand.

Saving the Robinson family was proving to be far more difficult than she had expected. Having to keep the reapers at bay as she simultaneously kept track of the entire family was far to hard for her alone. Maybe she should have let their son die instead of go through all this mess over and over again with the reapers.

All her cases started the same. She would save someone from dying, reapers would come to collect the soul anyway, and she would kill the reapers. It was an exhausting process, and she honestly never knew why she even started saving these humans lives anyway. She knew that the smart thing to do was to let them die at their natural fate-chosen time, but something within her hated seeing people go when she had the power to stop it.

* * *

It was a dreadful morning on the bustling streets of New York City, and it grew less and less appealing the more she re-lived it. As Emma peered through the windows of her apartment buildings front hall, Time Square seemed to glisten in the soft mist that had hung itself over the unusually dry city.

Waves of people and their automobiles moved in ripples just beyond the front doors, and the smell of gasoline quickly followed. Taking a deep breath in, the girl started to walk towards the only person she had ever talked to for the past month.

"Morning Marge. How are you this fine morning?" Emma asked politely as she passed the front desk of her apartment building.

Marge was the sweetest woman she had ever met, and perhaps the only human to ever win her over. She was also part of the reason why Emma had relived the last three hours over and over again. At precisely three pm, Marge would die of a stroke, and Emma wanted to be with her when it happened.

"Oh just swell Alice!" The woman replied with a wrinkled smile. Emma almost faltered midway through her cheery greeting.

"_Alice? Oh right… Now I remember,_" She thought to herself as she continued to smile at Marge. Alice had been her alias for the past month since she took up residence in the city of dreams. She needed to leave Emma behind, since the smallest trace of her past could lead any number of beasts to her.

"That's very nice Marge, I'll be out for a while, so I wont be seeing you till about three in the afternoon alright?" Emma said over her shoulder as she made her way to the front of the building.

Marge saw her as a close friend, even though they had only known each other for a short time. She so loved to treat Emma, along with most girls _her age_ in the building as though they were one of her own children.

"_Maybe it's because she could never have her own…"_ Emma thought idly as she moved her way out and onto the sidewalk outside.

She pushed the thoughts of Marge out of her head as she stood once more admiring the bleak gray sky overhead.

Armed with her pale white handbag slung over her shoulder, she crossed the street as she effectively maneuvered between automobiles and people alike. Oh boy, sometimes those metal cans moved so fast. It was odd for her to remember how just forty years ago a short carriage ride could send her stomach reeling. She didn't even ridden in a one of those _metal __things_ till she was thirty!

"_Oh how times have changed… Next thing you know they'll have a well functioning government." _She thought to herself.

She hopped with two feet up and onto the sidewalk across from her apartment building as she tucked another strand of hair behind her ear. The sound of horns honking made her turn as she saw a few men arguing over who got to park where. She rolled her eyes at their petty arguments and big hats. These humans… They always had a reason to fight.

"_How distasteful…"_

A gentle yet chilling breeze suddenly ran through her dress as she turned back around. It was funny, for a second she swore she could hear the sound of… Wings?

A strange sensation ran up her spine as she found that at the end of the street stood a strangely familiar man.

Waves of hair streamed down the sides of his face as he reached up and smoothed them behind his ears with one hand. His golden brown eyes practically sparkled with excitement as he looked her up and down. For any other man, Emma would have instantly turned and walked away, but… He seemed to know her.

The two of them stood frozen for a few moments, but then the man began to move toward her. She instantly straightened her posture and closed her gawking mouth as goose bumps ran up her arms. Gently closing her eyes, she made herself concentrate momentarily.

Once she opened them, she focused on using her abilities to see into the man's mind. But to her surprise, she couldn't see anything. It was like looking into a dark room with a blindfold on. The only thing revealed to her was a bright ring of light floating a few inches over the man's head. It looked to be a halo.

When she looked back down at his face, the golden-eyed man was only a few feet away from her. What was he? Of course he wasn't a demon, but the ring over his head could only mean one thing.

Emma's mouth went dry as his intense eyes stared deep into her own. He was chewing on something, and his white-toothed smile brought her guard down for some reason. He seemed so awkwardly approachable, and it made her feel a bit uneasy. People continued to push past them as the longhaired man suddenly spoke.

"So kid." The haloed man said, "What's your name?"

Emma hesitated before answering, she knew better than to say her real name.

"I'm Alice… Alice Lewis." she managed to sputter out with a stern expression. "And you are?"

The man nodded his head with a silly grin still plastered to his scruffy face. It was as if he were expecting her lie.

"You know what? Times been real good to you Emma." He said with a joking smile.

The girls face fell and paled at his words.

"As for me doll-face" He said with a small bow. "My name is Gabriel."

* * *

"Gabriel." Emma said.

"Yes." He replied.

"The archangel." She repeated.

"Yes." He said a little less patiently. Gabriel breathed out heavily through his nose as if he were implying that her shocked state was uncalled for.

Emma was stunned. Completely lost as she continued to stare at the bright-eyed man sitting across from her. The small and empty diner that Gabriel had brought her to seemed nice enough, but she couldn't shake the unsettling feeling of anxiety that repeatedly clouded her thoughts.

"Gabriel… The-"

"_Archangel _yes Emma we went through this on the way here now didn't we?" Gabriel interrupted with a horribly dramatic roll of his eyes.

The girl frowned deeply as she continued to stare in awe at the man sitting across from her. So far, he had no proof of actually being an archangel, and the mystery surrounding him frustrated her immensely.

"Well… This has never happened before. I mean… Wow?" Emma breathed as she focused on the analog clock over the man's shoulder.

It read 12:27pm.

She squirmed nervously in her seat as she tried to focus on her main objective.

Now that she thought about it. This was completely wrong. This whole situation was **completely wrong.**

**Never **had someone ever disrupted time like this… Ever!

She had gone through the past three hours over and over again with no trace of an archangel, and suddenly… Gabriel?

Whoever this man was, he must have been powerful, and he must have been unaffected by her rewinding time or else he wouldn't be sitting across from her.

Emma opened her mouth to speak, but decided against it as she quickly shook her head. All she could do was stare blankly at the well-dressed, halo crowned man in front of her.

Suddenly, a pain in Emma's hand brought her out of her daze. She looked down to see that she was clenching her fists. Her bruised knuckles cracked and bled slightly as she gasped and looked at the clock behind Gabriel.

12:32pm.

"_Shit! I've been staring at him for five minutes!?"_ She thought to herself as she remembered how urgent it was for her to get going. Finally finding her voice, the girl spoke up.

"Okay, whoever you are, I need to be somewhere _now_. Just tell me why you've been looking for me and I'll be on my way." She said with authority.

The man rolled his eyes once more as if she were missing something obvious.

"_Because _kiddo, I know all about the little grudge your holding over the Four Horsemen." Gabriel remarked as he curled his lips in anticipation of her reaction.

Emma was speechless.

But above all else, afraid.

He really did know her, but to what extent, she didn't really know. Suddenly, Gabriel's voice once again shocked her out of her surprised state.

"Ya know, you're starting to look pretty stupid with your mouth hanging open like that all the time." He said with another smile.

Emma gasped at just how rude he was acting. He _was_ the one who barged into her life after all, and the last thing she wanted was to fight an angel in broad daylight. No matter how flustered she felt, Emma knew that she had to keep her wits about her. She couldn't let her guard down for a second, and every minute counted. So instead of gawking like an idiot, she decided to go for a different approach.

"Well what are you here to tell me then?" she asked with a straight face.

"What do you mean? I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd say hello to little Mrs. Suffer-in-silence herself." Gabriel said as if he were laughing at his own inside joke.

Emma stiffened a little as a confused look once again took over her face.

"Well you're the messenger right?" She asked.

"Excuse me… The what?"

"Well I mean, if you actually are Gabriel, you're not _really_ an archangel. You're more of a… Glorified postman." She said with a stern expression.

Gabriel looked just as stunned as she previously felt. He stared at her in silence as all of Emma's adrenaline quickly turned into more anxiety.

"_Dammit… Did I really just anger an archangel? I didn't even know they existed until today! Okay Emma you should just apologize. Come on… you can do it…"_ She thought as she pursed her lips and attempted to maintain a calm composure.

Unfortunately, the angels irritating personality was clouding her better judgment. She just couldn't bring herself to _apologize_ to Gabriel. Before he could speak again, Emma quickly interrupted.

"Can you at least tell me why I've been _graced_ with the presence of an archangel? I must say… You're different from what I imagined your kind to be like." She said while visibly holding back harsher words.

Gabriel let out a huff of air as he tilted his head to one side.

"How old are you kid?" He asked with a bright smile.

Now it was Emma's turn to scoff.

"I'm no child. I'm like a God here and you _must_ know as much." She fired back. "I'm forty-nine years old."

Gabriel snorted as he forced a laugh through his nose.

"Jeez, you had me fooled _oh great and powerful _Barbie! God, you look like you could be sixteen!" He yelled as he threw his hands into the air. Emma couldn't believe how insane he was. She clenched her jaw as she narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance.

"_What… The hell is a Barbie?"_ She thought to herself as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Well… looks can be deceiving…" She replied dryly.

"Huh, you're tellin me." Gabriel acknowledged.

Emma rolled her eyes as she looked once more at the clock behind Gabriel. It was nearing one in the afternoon, and she only had limited time to deal with her case and still make it back to Marge by three.

Throwing Gabriel a disgusted look, she stood calmly from her seat and quickly made her way to the front door. Gabriel could only watch her back as her braid swayed from side to side behind her.

"Your making a mistake kid!" He yelled as she pushed against the doors that lead to the street.

"_Finally"_ she thought to herself, "_I've wasted enough time with Mr. postman over there, and now I can focus on…" _Emma let her thoughts scatter as she stepped outside. Or at least she would have if she didn't step into another diner.

"What?" She whispered as she looked at the table where Gabriel was sitting. He smirked confidently as he raised an eyebrow.

"Going somewhere?" He asked with mock curiosity.

Emma glared at him as she looked behind her. The same empty diner was all she saw, and Gabriel still sat at the table just a few feet behind her. She was stuck in a long row of rooms all identical to each other, and in each room, an equally obnoxious archangel sat at a table grinning up at her.

"_Fuck…"_ She thought to herself as she began to ball her hands into fists.

In all honesty, part of her was impressed. Gabriel must have put a lot of effort into constructing an endless rift in space just to keep her trapped, but the feeling of awe quickly turned to a furious rage as she looked over at the angel.

"Alright enough of this." She snapped as she stormed back to the center of the room.

She closed her eyes and concentrated with everything she had. Gabriel had a strong hold on the space around them, but she new that if she tried hard enough she could tare through his little _magic trick_. As she finally found what she felt was the weakest part of Gabriel's looped room, she gripped it tight with her mind. Gabriel was at her side in an instant as he grabbed her hand.

"Alright alright! Don't make me beg kid! Just sit down, I need your help more than you know." He pleaded.

It must have been the first thing he said to her that wasn't coated in humor or followed by an eye roll. The change in his tone made her sigh as she begrudgingly opened her eyes and turned to face him. Gabriel seemed relieved for a little while, but the straight line that his lips once formed soon grew into a sly grin.

Emma's frustration at Gabriel's constant knowing smile was pushing her over the edge.

"You know _nothing_ of my grudge against the Horsemen. I've spent my entire life running from them, and for what? I haven't learned anything, and I sure as hell can't fight them." She growled. She used her mind to pick a glass cup up off of Gabriel's table.

She threw it against the wall behind him as she fought to control herself. The clock fell onto the shattered pieces of glass on the floor, and she saw that the time was now 1:08pm. Time was moving too fast.

Frustrated, she relaxed her hands and closed her eyes. If she knew anything about herself, it was that she had an extremely short temper, and Gabriel just kept pushing her.

"I don't have time for this!" She yelled. "Those bastards killed my sister and poisoned my father. I don't want anything accept for their heads on a fucking stake!"

All of her built up anger exploded outward as the room began to shake. Lights flickered on and off as Gabriel looked up at the ceiling just in time to see a large crack race across it's regal white design. Chairs toppled over as the ground began to vibrate in tandem with her heartbeat, and Gabriel could feel her presence in the room more than he ever imagined.

His eyes flashed back to Emma's light ones as he took in a short and quick breath. His smile was gone, and a look of understanding.

"Don't play games with me _Gabriel, _you have _no_ idea what I can do. I'm stronger than you could ever imagine, and if you don't let me leave I swear... I'll rip your heart out and shove it down your fucking throat. Why would you even want my help anyway? What could some _kid_ offer!?" She shouted.

She knew that anger would get her nowhere, but that never stopped her from yelling before.

Gabriel stared at her in silence. He sighed and smiled gently at her outburst before speaking.

"Your not just _some kid_ and you know it… But for the love of god don't be so full of yourself!" He yelled in an awkwardly joking tone.

All at once, the room stopped vibrating. The crack in the ceiling stopped growing, and all the chairs returned to their upright position as Emma slowly let her tense body relaxed. Her shoulders slumped and a heavy sigh left her mouth as she stared at the archangel in front of her.

She needed to cool down.

God… She needed a cigarette.

"I don't need you to tell me anything Gabriel. Why don't you just leave so I can get on with my day. Actually no! Tell me what the hell you want." She said tiredly as she cleared her throat.

"Mind if I smoke? Well… You wouldn't be able to stop me anyway." She said with a small shake of her head.

Putting her hand into her small handbag, she pulled out a new pack of her favourite brand of cigarettes.

"Dreadful habit…" Gabriel said as he narrowed his eyes at her.

Emma only scoffed in response as she flicked the end of the cigarette she had chosen. Sparks flew from her fingertips as an orange pulse began to work its way across the tip of the Lucky Strike cigarette.

"Keeps me thin. I only do it after a good yell." She stated with a sideways glance at the angel.

"Oh please. You don't need to be any thinner, _trust_ me princess." He said with an eye roll and a look of distaste.

The girl only frowned as she shook her head at his words. "Well maybe you should try one then, heard it wakes up your brain cells too."

Gabriel's eyes widened a little as he looked at the girl in front of him. A small chuckle played in the back of his throat as he bit his lip in order to refrain from laughing.

"Huh. Funny. Now _**that's**_ the Emma I've heard of…" He muttered. " But I didn't think you'd be such a royal bitch."

Emma looked up just as he turned and began to sit back down. A stream of smoke left her gently parted lips as she savored its flavor. Contemplating whether to try for another escape, she continued to stare into the golden-brown eyes of the man who had come into her life. The more she struggled to figure him out, the more pieces of the puzzle she found, and if there was anything Emma hated more than wasting time, it was not being able to understand something.

Gabriel smiled as he found his usual joking attitude once more. It didn't take the blonde haired girl long to realize that the smile didn't reach his eyes. He seemed tired.

"Oh come on kid. _**You**_ want to learn more about the horsemen, _**I**_ want to learn more about the horsemen, I mean really! Its like we were _destined _to team up!" He exclaimed.

"I doubt that very much," Emma retorted as she crinkled her nose at the thought of working together with Gabriel.

She sighed heavily as she took another deep drag from her cigarette.

"_Easy girl… He's not worth it… Just turn around and- Oh right… No leaving… shit… Well what time is it then?" _Emma thought to herself as she turned away from Gabriel and looked over at the clock lying on the ground. It now read 1:35pm.

"Dammit! Are you doing this on purpose?" Emma shouted causing Gabriel to jump a little. "It's been nice yelling at you, but I've got places to be and-"

"You're not going _anywhere_ till I say so sweaty." Gabriel interrupted with a satisfied grin.

Emma's posture fell as she remembered just how trapped she really was. That same bubble of anger was starting its way up again, and she gritted her teeth as she thought of ways to get out of her current situation.

Suddenly. A fantastic idea hit her.

"Okay…" she said with little resolve. "For whatever reason, you want my help with understanding the Horsemen. I'll comply… but on one condition. I need you to kill something for me."

Intrigued, Gabriel's eyebrows shot straight up. Emma suppressed a grin as she watched Gabriel's expression grow more and more interested. This seemed to be right up his ally.

Clearing his throat, Gabriel straitened his expression as to seem more serious.

"Well kiddo, sure you're making the right choice?" He asked through pursed lips.

Emma shuttered at the name he insisted on calling her. With a heavy sigh, she continued to finish her thoughts.

"All I'm saying is if you help me with my next case, I'll help you with your hunt for information regarding the Horsemen." Emma said with another exhale of smoke.

Gabriel shook his head as he dramatically waved the thick fog away from his nose with his hand. It felt as though he wasn't taking the girl seriously, but with a wink of his eye and a quick mouthful of cake that had suddenly materialized in front of him, he spoke up.

"Perfect. When do we start?"

* * *

It was a long and awkward walk to the edge of the city where the Robinson family lived. Perhaps refusing to let Gabriel teleport them to the house she was looking for was a bad idea. She could barley keep her thoughts straight with Gabriel's constant ranting about the _state of humanity_.

"Gabriel please, I need to concentrate." She pleaded as she continued to walk beside him. He snorted in response.

"Oh please, you don't need to concentrate to take down whatever baddy you're after." He said.

"I do when there's four so do you mind?" The girl fired back.

Rubbing her temples as she walked, Emma couldn't quite grasp what the future held for her and Gabriel. The more she tried to piece it together, the more scattered it appeared. It felt as though Gabriel's presence was interfering with her powers in some way.

Gabriel, though his smile never truly faded, took on a more somber expression.

"Look, kid. If you're really this worried about facing whatever it is you're after, why don't you just let me handle the whole thing?" He asked.

The ache in Emma's skull was worsening with each step, and Gabriel's voice only made it worse.

"Please just stop talking for one second. I wouldn't trust you alone with a pebble let alone the lives of two other humans." Emma stated as she continued to rub the sides of her head soothingly.

Gabriel, seeming a little offended, decided to go against his better judgment and argue with her just a little more.

"Well, what's the point of all this then? Why are we even out here in the middle of nowhere-land when you could be doing something worth while?" He said with a hint of exasperation in his voice. "I thought you said you _hated_ humans."

Emma's eyebrows suddenly inched there way closer and closer together as she turned to look at Gabriel as they walked. What had he just said?

"I never said I hated them." The girl said as she slowly dropped her hands away from her head. "I never said that to anyone."

Her full attention was now on Gabriel. She truly hadn't said that to anyone, and the fact that Gabriel somehow knew of her dislike for humans was unsettling to say the least. She hated meeting knew people, and things like this only made her hate it more.

Emma began to slow her pace as she studied Gabriel's face more closely. The light from his halo was starting to block her view, but for a second, she could swear she saw regret in his eyes. Unfortunately for her, Gabriel seemed to have come up with an answer to her previous statement.

"Look Ems, you see this ring of light around my pretty little head?" Gabriel asked as he flamboyantly gestured towards the top of his head.

"Well that there is known as a _halo_, get it? These things called _angels_ have them. And Guess what? Angels can sometimes _know _things about people because of their _celestial god given power. _And trust me kid, you're an open book." Gabriel taunted with a little too much enthusiasm.

Every, single, word, was laced with irritating sarcasm. He was speaking as if she were the dumbest person he had ever met, and the frustration growing inside of her only made the headache worse.

"_Relax Emma… Breath…"_ The blonde haired girl told herself as she focused on finding her way to the Robinson house. Instead of playing into his game, Emma decided to once again, try and decipher the puzzle that was Gabriel.

"You talk to me as if we have history." She said warily.

Gabriel blinked a few times before taking a deep breath in. Raking a hand through the mane of hair that surrounded his face, he slowly turned towards Emma. She kept a straight face as she watched him cautiously from the corner of her eye.

"We do have history." He said after a whiles pause. "I've been watching you for quite some time."

Gabriel began to inch his way closer to her as he continued to walk. Emma swallowed hard as she involuntarily sidestepped away from Gabriel's intense stare.

"I… I love you Emma."

Emma's eyes practically leapt out of her head. She gasped so loudly that her chest actually hurt, and her cheeks burned bright red as she turned and stared into Gabriel's piercing gaze.

Suddenly, he burst out laughing. A few tears actually managed to roll down the sides of his face as he nearly fell over giggling like a child.

The girls face quickly fell into a look of confusion. Was he… joking?

"I can't believe it! Oh man I wish you could have seen your face! That was priceless!" Gabriel yelled as he wrapped his arms around his middle as he continued to laugh uncontrollably. Emma stopped walking in mid stride.

"You preposterous… Irrelevant… Idiot! Why are you so annoying?! I'd rather chew glass then spend another second with you!" Emma shouted as she moved to storm off. Her face still shone bright crimson as she firmly crossed her arms.

"Ouch! Words like that can hurt a guys feelings!" Gabriel managed to squeak out between fits of laughter.

When she finally did turn back to look at him, a smile still lit up the angels face, but a grave expression seemed to float in his eyes. It was enough to make Emma forget about his little _prank_ for now.

"Look… Doll face… I'm only here to help. I really _really_ am. You've just gotta trust me." He said as he held back small bursts of laughter.

Emma sighed as she uncrossed her arms and let her head fall back. Looking at the sky as she did so, a small smile made its way to her lips. Gabriel was the first person to ever _joke around_ with her. This couldn't be what it felt like to have a friend could it? Maybe going about the world alone was a mistake on her part after all. But she digressed. Gabriel didn't seem to be an ideal candidate for a first friend.

"Oh don't act all tough kid, I saw that smile." Gabriel said as he moved to put an arm around her. Emma backed away before he could touch her as she let her face fall back into its usual grim state.

Gabriel sighed heavily. Maybe now was the time to cool it with his _annoying-older-brother_ act. He really didn't want to anger her, but the girl was just too much fun to upset.

Emma seemed to have worked something out in her mind as she shook her head at Gabriel and quickly turned to continue walking.

"Come on." She said. "We're almost there."

"Really? Cause… I don't see much of anything out here." Gabriel responded as he began to stare off into the distance.

They had reached the edge of a field as they left the main road, and all that could be seen was miles and miles of farmland.

Her blue dress swayed gently in the cool September breeze as she looked over at Gabriel. It was only now that she noticed how strong his features were. Squinting up at him from her current angle made him seem so much older then he let on. His almond coloured eyes looked _beautiful_ in the hazy light of his halo, and the stubble on his jawline made him look, in an odd way, tough.

Speechless. That's how she felt in that moment. She really had seen him before, but it was such a faded memory…

Suddenly, Gabriel broke the silence.

"Well sure this is a beautiful field and all, but what exactly are we looking for?" Gabriel asked as he looked over his shoulder at the girl beside him.

Quickly looking away from Gabriel's face, she fixed her sight on a point far off into the distance.

"Look, see? Way out there, just behind those old trees. There's a farm house just beyond there." She said, quickly stretching out her arm and pointing directly in front of them.

It looked to be about a half-mile walk, but neither of them seemed to want to complain. If they were fast, they could get there by 2:25 o'clock.

"Alright then, care to tell me what were gonna find there? I've been playing nicely and not asking question, but come on kid give me the low down already." Gabriel said as he turned to face her.

Emma only tilted her head in confusion as she began to rub her temples once more.

"What? Low down… What does that even… Pardon me?" She questioned as she once again brought a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

Gabriel only sighed as he went to put a hand on Emma's shoulder. To his surprise, she didn't jerk away.

"Remind me to speak in simple terms around you alright?" He joked innocently.

"Gladly." Emma said in response. She really was through with Gabriel's stupid sayings anyway.

Taking one quick look over her shoulder, Emma stepped into the thigh high weeds of the field. Thorns from various plants tickled her shins as she lifted her dress in order to keep it clean. Gabriel followed close behind her.

"Hey you never answered my question." Gabriel said as he narrowly avoided stepping on a snail.

"What are we going to find in that barn? And how are you going to fight? You're so skinny I'm surprised you haven't been picked up and carried away by the breeze yet."

Emma simply rolled her eyes as she continued walking. He was such a child. If only he knew just what she was capable of, then maybe he would actually take her seriously. But no matter, she would have his full attention once they reached that barn.

Stopping suddenly, Emma turned to face Gabriel. The light of his halo still irritating her eyes as she held herself back from using a hand to shield her face.

"What is it kid? Why'd we stop?" Gabriel asked as his eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.

Emma turned her focus to the pale white handbag at her side. Thank _god_ she hadn't forgotten it in her apartment earlier on. Making quick work of the buttoned down flaps on its front, she opened the bag and tentatively reached inside.

Once she found what she was looking for, she pulled her hand free, revealing an old looking knife with a hilt made of a deer's antler. Ancient looking glyphs were etched into the blade, and Gabriel's bewildered reaction was just what she was hoping for.

"My oh my, your just full of surprises aren't you kiddo… Is that-"

"The one and only" Emma said with the hint of a smile playing on her expressionless face.

"_Well maybe he's not that dim-witted after all,"_ she thought to herself as she examined the blade in her hand.

"How did… I mean where did? I mean when?" Gabriel stuttered on as he struggled to find the right words. Emma quickly interrupted his thoughts.

"I found it on a trip to Kurdistan a while back. It nearly cost me an arm and a leg… I'm not even exaggerating." She said with a shutter.

The look of wonder in Gabriel's eyes made Emma soften slightly. She was the first to admit that she was quick tempered and stubborn, but this… Archangel… Sure was a piece of work.

"Do you have any idea what that does?" Gabriel asked in astonishment.

Emma only continued to stare blankly at Gabriel. For a being with "_god given cosmic powers"_, he sure didn't know much about her. The girl shook her head in exasperation. With each passing second, Gabriel's childish and dumbfounded expression became less and less tolerable.

"Oh please," She said. "Quit gawking. Of course I know what it does. This is the only thing that can kill a demon."

"That must have been hell to get! And you did it by yourself? Wow, how was that? Did you w_restle _it out of some monks hands or something?" Gabriel questioned a bit to loudly.

Thank god the two of them were alone, Emma might die of embarrassment if they were still in the city. He sure is an excitable boy.

"Yes… it was hard to get, and even harder to hold onto. And no I did not _wrestle_ any monks Gabriel." She stated sourly with a roll of her eyes.

Something about the strange and boisterous man was quite… What's the word she was looking for… endearing?

Emma smiled a little as she looked back down at the knife in her hand. Gently tossing it into the air, she caught it by its blade and lowered it back into her bag. With a sigh, she turned her attention back to Gabriel.

"Reapers, I hunt them." She said, successfully maintaining her hardened expression.

Gabriel once again crinkled his nose in confusion at her words.

"Well why? Seems kinda pointless actually." He remarked.

Emma flipped a few stray hairs out of her face once more as she turned and continued to walk towards their destination.

"There's a house by the barn. A coloured family lives there. The Robinsons." Emma said as she looked down at her feet.

Just the memory of her first attempt at saving them sent shivers down her spine. At this point however, she might as well tell Gabriel of her work.

"The boy of the house was going to be beaten to death for his shoes on his way home from school. I saw it happen, well I saw his future when I bumped into him... I told him to take the long way home, and reapers don't exactly like people living past their expiration date, and neither does fate." She said while taking in a shaky breath. Explaining this seemed harder then she expected it to be.

"I've been doing this for a while. I save people, and around one week after the day they were supposed to die, reapers come to_ forcefully_ collect their souls, but I kill them. I'm guessing you've put two and two together and figured out that its been eight days since I saved that boys life. I don't even know his name."

Cautiously stepping over a few patches of mud, the girl fell silent. The pain in her temples kept growing, and she knew that this would be her last time being able to re-live the past three hours. If she failed, there was no going back in time without dying. Clearing her throat before she began talking, the girl continued with the explanation of her past.

"I can control time… Well to some extent at least. I'm sure you felt it when I tried to rip myself out of the diner before. I've been working so hard just to save this one family, but I just can't…" Emma trailed off as she sighed gently.

She could really go for a cigarette right about now.

Gabriel didn't respond. He only walked in silence as he looked at her with a serious expression on his face.

"But why kill reapers? The people would die sooner or later right? Honestly Ems come on… What's the point of saving humans when you don't even like them in the first place? All I'm sayin is it seems a bit redundant."

Emma paused. In all honesty, she hadn't really thought much about that, but allowing people to die when she had the power to stop it left her feeling ill.

"Redundant... That's a big word Gabriel, good job." She said with the hint of a smile. Gabriel only watched her closer as he waited for her response.

"I suppose the real reason is that I really hate death. But also, in my own way, to send a message." She said as she continued to eye the gray house.

"Oh seriously now… You gotta stop being so cryptic kid! What message are you sending? Who the hell are you sending it to?" Gabriel questioned as he picked up his pace in order to walk beside Emma.

"The Horsemen" She said simply. "That I'm stopping their apocalypse."

Gabriel slowed his pace once more. He seemed surprised at her words, but not completely shaken.

"Well… What makes you think the end is nigh?" Gabriel asked as nonchalantly as possible. To Emma, it seemed like he knew something she didn't.

"Just that everything after the year two-thousand and nine is hazy, I'm not entirely sure… Just call it a hunch." She said as they reached the beginning of the Robinson family's property line.

A small gray house with a weathered picket fence sat about fifty yards away from them, and the sound of glass shattering against brick caught both of their attention.

"Show time." Gabriel said with a smirk.

Emma quickly pulled the demon-killing blade out of her handbag, and ran towards the gray house in front of them.

"What time is it?" She yelled back to Gabriel.

"2:32!" He yelled back.

"_Alright. Stay calm. You have an archangel with you this time, and you've gone through this _three fucking _times. Get your shit together Emma!" _The girl mentally screamed.

Taking another deep breath, she knew she was ready. This was her last chance to save the Robinson boy and his sister before the reapers got to them. Hopefully with Gabriel tagging along, she would be strong enough to kill the reapers before the hellhound arrived.

She then proceeded to blast through the door, and with Gabriel by her side, walked into the Robinson home.


	3. A Revelation

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait oh my goodness! School has been EXTREMELY demanding along with my job outside of my education. I've been excited to get this chapter posted for a while now since it gets the party started in a way :). Hope this answers some of your questions, and thank you to everyone who's been reading! I just want to say that the next chapter will be up soon as well, so thanks again!**

* * *

**The Timeless** and: A Revelation

**Date:** September 13th, 1914

**Location:** Robinson House, Ney York

**Start Time:** 2:32 PM

* * *

"_Deep breaths… Deep breaths."_ Emma repeated to herself. Her mantra keeping her calm as screams continued to sound throughout the house as her and Gabriel rounded a corner which brought them to a small living room.

It seemed that the two had arrived just in time. A tall and muscular reaper wearing a fine black suit had a firm grip on a young girls hair, and his female accomplice was inches away from the boy that Emma had saved. Her short dark hair flared around her as she moved closer to the boy as tears streamed down his face. She only needed to touch his skin in order to kill him, but an odd feeling made her freeze.

The two reapers looked up simultaneously as they felt Emma's presence in the room.

"You know why I'm here. Stop this, or I _will _kill you." Emma sneered with determination.

"Kill us…" The tallest reaper scoffed. "Nothing can even hurt us you pathetic monster."

Gabriel looked over at Emma as he registered what the reaper had said. Sparing him a glance, Emma nodded with her head signaling for him to get behind her. Smirking a little as he did so, he took a step back from the living room, and allowed Emma to confront the reapers herself; She didn't seem to be in need of help at the moment.

Before any further arguing could occur, Emma slowly brought the demon-killing blade out from behind her back.

The two reapers in front of her gasped in unison, and a third suddenly appeared as he took in the scene unfolding in front of him.

"We expected this to be your work Emma. I thought it best that I personally come in order to bring you back to your place." The third reaper said nonchalantly.

"_Just like he said the first time…"_ Emma thought to herself as she released a slow breath from her lungs.

"Eli…" The name rolled off Emma's tongue as if it where poison. "I had a feeling you would come."

"How could I miss a chance to see your beautiful face?" Eli responded with a genuine smile.

Emma shook her head in disgust as she held in a few gags.

"Your disgusting." She spat. "Forty years and you still haven't developed emotions I see."

Eli sighed before stretching his neck from side to side. Looking to the female reaper beside him, he gestured with his head for her to step up beside him and away from the boy Emma had saved.

"Come back with us," Eli said plainly. "You were safe once."

"I was never safe and you knew it." Emma shot back.

Eli blinked a few times as if trying to find the right words.

"We can give you anything. The throne is yours for the taking." He said as his small smile faded.

Emma chuckled a little before responding.

"Give me Maria then."

Eli's face went deadpan as his hands fell to his side. The female reaper to his left clenched her jaw as the tension in the room grew.

"That is impossible Emma."

"And why is that may I ask?"

Eli cleared his throat as he straightened out a wrinkle in his suit collar.

"Her soul is rotting in Hell. Has been for almost fifty years. We don't venture there, and even if we could, there would be nothing left to salvage."

Emma's emotionless expression faltered for only a moment as Eli's words registered in her mind. It was as if she had forgotten how to breath, and the world around her was collapsing in. Marias soul was in hell. Impossible.

"You're lying." She choked out through gritted teeth.

Eli only tilted his head to one side as he stared at her quizzically.

"Why would I lie? It was a shame that we lost our most favorable candidate, but you will have to do. Hopefully the apple didn't fall far from the tree."

Emma's grip on the demon-killing blade tightened to the point that her knuckles bled.

"Your hypothetical tree must have been on quite the hill because I'm _nothing_ like my sister or mother."

"You know exactly who I am referring to Emma," Eli interrupted. He was met with a cold stare.

Sensing an opportunity to defuse the situation, the female reaper beside Eli began to speak.

"I- We… Are sincerely sorry that War got to you before we did, but we only wish to maintain the natural order. We need you. The world needs you. Death needs you." She pleaded as she took a step closer to Emma.

Emma paused momentarily as she stared blankly at the three reapers in front of her. The tallest one still had his hand tangled in the hair of the youngest girl of the Robinson family, and the boy she had originally saved still had tears streaming down his fragile face.

"And what of the children?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.

"You sealed their fate the second you saved that boy. What else can we do? Don't play with fire Emma. You may not get burned, but someone will."

Looking into the tired eyes of the trembling boy behind the reapers, Emma's decision was made easy.

"Fuck Death then."

She closed her eyes briefly. Every muscle in her body tensed as she prepared herself to fight. When she opened her eyes, the room became vibrant with color. Her left eye began to ache, but she couldn't loose focus now of all times.

Not only her own life, but the lives of two other people now depend on her survival. It was three against one, and as she took one last slow breath, the room began to slow down.

"_Perfect,"_ The blonde thought to herself. "_Now the real fight begins."_

Lifting her right foot up into the air slowly, she began to run towards Eli. It's funny really, fighting in slow motion. Of course to the outside world, she was moving at a normal speed, but in this _bubble_ that she created, interrupting the flow of time was as easy as blinking; Or at least it was nine hours ago when she first started this journey.

"_Ok Emma think. Closest to the left. Five foot nine. Left-handed. Going for left hook. Best course of action? Reinforced fore arm block at his elbow, dislocate arm. Next."_

Her foot finally hit the floor as she struggled to lift her other leg in order to take another leap. She now turned her attention to the reaper right of Eli.

"_Slight falter in right footstep. Prior knowledge of my fighting style. Movement pattern suggest thoughts of teleportation. Most likely behind me. Solution? Kick to the ribs one-eighty degrees behind me after previous dislocation. Next"_

At this point, the female reaper on her left was getting far to close for her to take time to analyze the fight any further, so now was the time to set her plan in motion.

She let time flow normally once again as the world around her burst back to life. Her prediction of the left hook was correct, and she effectively brought her arm up to block it. Simultaneously grasping the reapers elbow and shoulder, she sped up time.

Her body twisted while still holding the trapped reapers arm, causing a loud pop to surge through the air as she pulled and spun.

The now handicapped reaper fell forward as time suddenly halted once more. The pain in her left eye only grew the more she used her time ability, but know that she had more at stake, she needed to get this finished, and fast.

She looked up to the spot where the second reaper was standing. She had vanished. Emma turned quickly in a half circle to find that her second prediction was also correct. The reaper now stood directly behind her with a sorrowful expression on her face.

Emma let go of her grasp on time as she turned to face the female reaper. Her headache came back full force as she nearly toppled over from the pain. Everything would need to be real time now or she ran the risk of passing out.

The reaper lurched forward as she went to punch Emma in the stomach. Blocking the punch with her arm, Emma brought her blade wielding hand up high into the air, and went to slam it into the reapers chest. The stab was blocked by the reaper as their wrists smashed against each other, and Emma quickly brought her leg up and kneed her in the stomach.

A pulling at the back of Emma's head made her gasp as she lost balance. Throwing her elbow behind her, she made contact with Eli's jaw just as he pulled her to the ground by her hair. Eli quickly straddled her hips as he slammed Emma's hands against the ground with his own, causing her blade to slide across the floor.

"Stop fighting this Emma! You're only making this worse!"

"Get off!" Emma shrieked as she worked up as much mucus in the back of her throat as possible.

She spat as hard and fast as she could in Eli's face as she simultaneously rocked her body to one side. He fell off her as she rolled with him, and quickly grabbed his hair in her hands.

Using her telekinesis, she looked over her shoulder and jerked her head to the side, making the female reaper fly across the room and collide with a wooden chair.

"Do you think this is just a game?" Emma yelled as she picked Eli's head up off the hardwood floor and slammed it back down.

"Do you think I wanted this fucking life?" Emma screamed once again as she slammed Eli's head into the ground once more. Blood spurted across the floor as he made contact with the ground.

Emma's rage had reached a new level as she raised his head a few inches above the now cracked floor beneath his head, and pressed her thumbs against his open eyes. Eli screamed loudly as Emma prepared herself to slam his head against the ground once more, but a pair of arms wrapped around her middle and threw her off of him before she could.

With a loud crash, she fell back to the floor, and was pinned to the ground by the female reaper.

"Emma stop!" She yelled, though the look in Emma's eyes told her that it was to late.

A sliding sound made the reaper turn her head as she found that the demon killing blade was making its way back to Emma. Before she could react, she was pulled high into the air by her short brown curls, and had her throat clutched between Emma's free hand.

"You should have left when you had the chance." Emma barked as she strained her mind to keep hold of the woman in front of her. Her telekinesis wasn't as strong as it should have been, and the reaper was proving to be very heavy.

Quickly adjusting the demon-killing blade in her hand, she thrust it deep into the reapers stomach.

Hot tears fell down onto Emma's pale cheeks as the brunette reaper convulsed with pain. Bright lights flickered on and off within her body as she withered away to ash.

Letting go of a tense breath, Emma wiped at the tears on her cheeks. She was sure of one thing, they were not her own, but the thought of the reaper crying before her death made Emma pause momentarily as she wondered what had made her so sad. She needn't wonder much however, since she knew it was her actions that made her cry.

Pushing the female reaper out of her mind, she turned to face Eli, and barley ducked under a broad right hook he had thrown at her. She turned into his body as she went to jam her blade into his stomach, but her arm was caught by the handicapped reaper before she could stab his leader.

Looking up and into Eli's bloodied eyes, she blocked another one of his punches with her left arm as she smashed her forehead into his nose.

"Fuck!" She screamed as blood began to rush down her forehead.

The head-butt may not have been well executed, but it made Eli instantly bring his hands up to his bloody nose as he closed his eyes in pain.

Emma quickly turned her attention to the reaper on the ground that was holding back her knife-wielding arm.

"Let go." She stated. There was no mercy in her eyes, and the cold that fell over the fallen reaper made his breath catch in his throat.

Not acting fast enough for Emma, she brought up her right leg as she wiped blood out of her eyes, and stomped as hard as she could on the dislocated shoulder of the reaper at her feet.

A terrible scream left his lips as his arm came clean out of its socket.

Blood began to stain the shoulder area of his suit as Emma turned and grabbed the wrist of his remaining hand.

"I hope this hurts as much as I think it will." She said calmly as she squeezed hard.

The sound of bone against bone lit up the room as she crushed the wrist of the reaper on her arm. His face bore an expression that could only be described as one of pure agony as Emma tore her hand out of his broken grip. Without a second thought, she buried the blade deep into his skull.

"_One more. Just one more. Stay alive."_ The girl thought to herself as she stood quickly and turned to face the reaper she left behind.

A sudden piercing pain ran through her body as she came face to face with the last remaining reaper, Eli.

She gasped as she looked down at her stomach. A knife had been buried in her mid section up to the hilt, and the look of determination in the Eli's eyes seemed to outweigh her own.

"I hope this hurts as much as I _think_ it will." He taunted as he began to slowly twist the knife inside her body.

"You really _are_ a monster now, aren't you Emma? I have a friend coming to assist in my efforts to take you back, he's eager to meet you." The reaper choked out as blood continued to flow from his broken nose and swollen eyes.

"It's a-"

"Hellhound. Yeah I… I F-figured as much." Emma sputtered out as she moved to stab Eli with the demon-killing knife. He quickly hit his hand against hers, causing the blade to fall to their feet.

He looked surprised as he continued to stare into Emma's now bloodshot eyes.

"You've been through this already haven't you Emma. Well it doesn't much matter, You'll be unconscious within the minute."

The roar of a hellhound made her shutter as she turned her head to look at Gabriel. He sat with his arms crossed and a solemn expression etched into his face.

"_Just say the word." _Gabriel's voice sounded in her head. _"Say the word and I'll help you."_

Emma only turned her attention back to the reaper as she struggled to stay standing.

"I'd rather die than let you take these kids." She said as she began to push against the reaper with her mind.

He felt _so heavy, _and the sound of booming footsteps outside made her vision blur as she tried to focus on anything but the pain.

Suddenly, the footsteps stopped. Emma's breath caught in her throat as she stared into the blank eyes of the reaper in front of her.

"Is this _really_ still about the children Emma? Oh don't be so selfish! Using them to relieve your mind of your real reason for defying us is the worst sin you could ever commit. No... You won't die. But you'll wish you could." Eli said as he pulled his knife out of Emma's body, and thrust it deep into her chest.

Emma gasped as blood raced up her throat and into her mouth.

"G-go to hell you parasite," She sputtered.

The hellhound was just beyond the front doors. She could smell its charred fur, and the fear that blazed through her was the same as it was the night her sister died.

Looking over at Gabriel once more, she pursed her lips as a cough made the blood in her mouth pour itself over Eli's black suit. Dots began to blur her vision as her exhausted body begged for her to let go. She knew that her fight was over.

"Gabe…" She tried again. "G-Gabriel."

A bright flash of light illuminated the room as Emma felt herself go weightless.

"Just sit tight kid." He said. "You put on quite the show. Everything's under control."

* * *

She blinked. Then began to breath steadily again.

The bright light faded as her eyes slowly adjusted to the dull colours of the gray walls that surrounded them.

In front of her stood a man with a burning ring of light surrounding his head, and wings on his strong back.

They stretched outwards in front of her as their ends touched the walls on either side of him. The golden brown feathers glistened in a soft glow that poured itself from his very being.

Dark spots littered the otherwise perfect wings of the angel, and just below the line where his feathers ended, Emma could see the head of a reaper in his left hand, and the head of a hellhound in his right.

"Shit," He murmured. "Made me get my wings dirty…"

"_Wings that match his eyes…_" Emma thought to herself as she stared breathlessly at the man who had just saved her life, and at that moment, she knew it wasn't for the first time.

Gabriel turned slowly as he dropped the heads to the ground with a thump. He brushed a few strands of long hair out of his face as he took in Emma's stunned expression. The serious look on his face lightened almost immediately after he laid eyes on her.

With a loud flap of his wings and a serious shoulder roll, his wings folded behind his back and vanished.

"Huh… Well a thank you would be nice." He said in a monotone voice. Emma crinkled her nose in confusion.

"How? Y-you were so fast," She said in a daze.

"Yeah don't mention it kid, I guess for a _glorified mailman_ I've got some serious moves don't I?" Gabriel joked.

Emma held back an eye-roll as she looked down to examine her body.

Red splotches of blood were splattered all over her torn cloths, but she felt no pain anywhere.

Gabriel crossed his arms as his warrior persona faded. He sensed a change in Emma, and as she looked up at him with a newfound determination in her eyes, he braced himself for what he knew would be the end of his _peaceful visit._

"Wait… We've met before… haven't we?" Emma questioned.

Gabriel noticeably stiffened, but it was obvious that he had a well-prepared answer for her.

"Well kid, I-"

"I'm not talking about Germany Gabriel," Emma interrupted.

Gabriel remained silent. The quirky smile that usually sat on his childish face faltered ever so slightly, but after a few moments more of silence, it left him entirely.

"I didn't think you would remember that," Gabriel said with obvious shame in his voice. But shame over what? Saving her life?

"I'll admit, it took me a while to remember where I had seen your face, but It all made sense once I saw your wings." Emma said with a small smile. "I remember you… I was… Lying in the streets after running from War, and I fell into a river. I never knew how I got there, but it was you wasn't it? It was you the entire time."

It felt odd to not be yelling at him, but for some reason, she _wanted_ to get along with him.

"I knew you seemed familiar, I just didn't piece it all together until I saw your wings… They matched your eyes even then Gabriel. But like I said, that's not what I'm talking about. You know me, but its more than just from picking me up of the streets when I was six," Emma said, trailing off as she tried to focus on what to say next. If she was right, then a storm was headed her way, and she wasn't entirely sure if she was ready for it.

"You know me because you spent time with me… A lot of time I assume." She said as her calm composure began to slip.

"You know me because we've been friends for a long time." Emma practically whispered the words at this point. Finally accepting what must be true, she opened her mouth to finish her thoughts.

"You came back didn't you- from the future." Emma said as she looked up and into Gabriel's hazel eyes.

He remained still. Very still. But his lack of response only confirmed her thoughts.

"The only question I have now is why did you come back at all? Was it something I did? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is for you to do this!?" Emma shouted as panic began to lace its way into her words.

The look in Gabriel's eyes made Emma feel something she hadn't felt in a long time. He didn't speak, but he didn't have to, for his eyes spoke a thousand words. He looked sad, but with his head tilted slightly to the right it looked like the ghost of a smile was playing on his lips. Emma could feel that he cared about her, maybe not love, but something was going to happen to her, or him, that couldn't be allowed to take place. If he was willing to potentially through away the lives of millions of people just to see her at this point in time, then the problem must be serious.

"Does this have to do with 2010?" Emma asked cautiously.

"Damn," Gabriel gasped. "I didn't think you would figure it out this quickly."

Emma, though confident with her ability to read people, still wasn't sure whether Gabriel seemed subtly happy or sad. He still hadn't answered her question, but as he hung his head and put his hands on his hips, Emma let her defenses drop.

"Gabriel… I-"

"Your right Emma… About everything. The apocalypse, it's going to destroy the planet," Gabriel interrupted.

He didn't, or couldn't, look her in the eyes. It was as if he was scared to see her reaction, but to his surprise, there was no screaming or yelling. No punches thrown, no kicks or crying, there was only more silence.

"I meet you on the battlefield, you choose to fight with the demons and the Horsemen. You screw up kid, you really do. I came back because you suck at doing the right thing, and I should have been there for you. Well I guess there's no nice way to put this now is there…" Gabriel said with a chuckle. "You single handedly fuck up the world. You cause the apocalypse."

Looking up from his feet, Gabriel was shocked with what he saw.

Emma was still. Completely silent in every meaning of the word, and with each passing second, Gabriel's anxiety levels grew.

"The only thing…" Emma whispered. "The only _fucking_ thing I wanted to keep safe and I destroy it."

Emma smiled as she brought a hand up to cover her mouth. She hiccupped as tears began to prick at her eyes, but she would never allow herself to cry in front of Gabriel. In fact, she did the opposite. What started out as a small chuckle, evolved into a giggle, and from there became a thundering laugh. Her stomach began to hurt as she felt each muscle in her body tense up due to the heavy laughter that had taken over her.

"Fuck!" She screamed as she continued to laugh. Turning suddenly, she brought up a fist and punched a hole in the wall beside her.

"You know what? I don't care anymore," She said. "I don't know why I try so hard when I know things like this are going to happen!"

Stepping in close, Gabriel gave Emma a cold stare.

"Emma, listen closely to what I'm about to say… Don't give up. Please." He whispered.

Emma took in a small breath as she closed her eyes and hung her head.

"I'm done Gabriel. I might as well go big or go home you know? I'll just have to enjoy the rest of-"

Emma was interrupted mid sentence by Gabriel. He had grabbed her shoulders and slammed her against the wall she had punched a hole in.

"Good God woman you're pathetic! Giving up? What? Its like I don't even know you! Your grand adventure is just fucking beginning! Christ Ems… If this is all you've got, which I _know_ it isn't, then you don't stand a chance!" He yelled.

His grip on her shoulders was so tight that Emma was sure deep bruises would form, but she never pulled away or flinched in the slightest. Instead, she looked deep into Gabriel's eyes. He seemed so angry with his eyebrows bunched together and his jaw clenched, but once again, Emma could feel his need for her to be than she was now. His eyes, they always had a way of speaking to her like nothing else could.

Letting a long held breath leave her body, she looked down at her feet.

"That means the horsemen are on the move," She said silently. "I guess we'll have to give them a warm welcome then, huh Mr. mailman?"

She slowly reached up towards him and moved his hands from her shoulders. They fell quickly to his side as she gently placed a hand on his shoulder. She breathed softly as she continued to look into his eyes.

"Gabriel. I dont know how much you know about me, but... There's an evil inside me." Emma began. The words she was looking for struggled to find their way to her mind as she continued speaking.

"I'm just so angry all the time. I wanted to completely destroy those reapers, and when I'm angry- I just can't control myself. Eli used to look after me and Maria when we were kids, but he disappeared the day War caught up with us. He was right even then. I _am _a monster. I realize now that I've just been using the people I save as an excuse to kill reapers, or anything for that matter. Its like part of me just wants... to watch the world burn."

Gabriel frowned gently as he raised his eyebrows.

"My oh my," He said. "I don't think you've ever told me this much about yourself! Kid, don't be afraid. You're anything _but_ a monster, and reapers are slimly bastards anyway so good riddance."

Emma shook her head as she pulled Gabriel into a hug and gently placed her head on his chest.

"Gabriel," she said. "I think I love you".

Gabriel's mouth dropped open as a serious look of confusion took over his face. A smile suddenly raced across Emma's own face as her calm composure broke under the strain put on her tired body from holding back an intense laugh.

"Gabriel you should have seen your face!" She yelled as she let go of his body in order to hold her sides tightly.

Gabriel smiled as he watched her successfully pull off her first prank. He had seen her grow up once, and this time he wanted to make sure things didn't end the way they did in _his_ future. He had seen the bloodshed she had caused, and the literal time-bomb that was Emma Holt needed to be kept under tight surveillance. He crossed his arms as he transferred his weight from leg to leg.

"Oh screw off sweet-cheeks! I walked right into that one didn't I?" he laughed as a white-toothed grin began to take up his face.

Emma only smiled back as she reviled in the feeling of actually joking around with someone. Looking up and into Gabriel's eyes, she decided that working with him would be the right thing to do.

"Seriously Gabriel, I'm scared," She said as she finally controlled her laughter. "The Horsemen have it out for me_,_ and I don't know what I'm doing! God I feel like I'm going insane!"

"Welcome to the rest of your life," Gabriel said with a wink.

"Well can you at least tell me one thing?" She asked as the they began to make their way out of the house.

"Well you of all people know that anything I say could cause the universe to _implode_, but I mean sure! Why the heck not." He said with a goofy expression. It was a fair warning, but Emma new better than to ask him something that could tear the world apart.

"I just want to know if I ever get a better grasp of my abilities." She asked as they finally made it to the front of the house. Gabriel crossed the threshold of the Robinsons home and stepped outside as he simultaneously turned to face Emma.

"Oh trust me, you're gonna kick ass kid," Gabriel said with a smile. "And man oh man, when I say you're gonna be a babe, I mean _**your gonna be a babe!**_ And you're lucky too because that's gonna get you _so _many places."

Emma's upper lip twisted with confusion as she thought about what Gabriel had just said.

"What? Why is being a baby going to get me places? I thought you said I was going to be- Oh never mind," she muttered with little conviction.

She allowed herself to smile briefly as she let go of trying to understand Gabriel. For all the obnoxious things she had heard him say, she couldn't help but feel comforted by his jokes. She smiled fondly as she shook her head at his words.

"Wait… What time is it?" She asked as a memory began to fight its way back into her head.

"Twenty after three why do you ask?" Gabriel responded.

A few moment of silence passed between them, Emma looked off into the distance as her eyebrows grew closer together. She struggled to remember what she felt was so important only a few hours ago, but then it came to her.

"Marge had her stroke at three! Dammit…" She cursed as her and Gabriel stepped back into the field that they crossed to get to the Robinson's home. At least she was leaving two unconscious siblings asleep in their beds apposed to hanging by their entrails thanks to a hellhound.

Gabriel only smiled as he nudged Emma with his elbow.

"Oh come on she's fine Ems." He said as he stepped over a rather large ant hill.

Emma grimaced a little as she remembered the sight of Eli's headless body while trying to catch up to Gabriel. She really would have torn him apart if she had the chance, Eli that is, and that scared her more than any Hellhound could. The unnatural aspects of her soul seemed to be changing her more and more as she aged. She was becoming a monster and she knew it. In fact, in telling Gabriel this, maybe she could alter her future.

Focusing on Gabriel, she found that blood still stained his back as she ran a little to catch up to him. Eventually, the two reached the street at the edge of the field.

By the time she had successfully cleared her mind, she had found a way to keep herself from becoming what Gabriel feared. To tell him the truth was the last thing she wanted, and she knew that it must have been the last thing her future self would have wanted either, so putting this amount of trust in Gabriel must impact her for the better in the long run. Or at least she hoped it would.

"Gabriel, there's one more thing I want to tell you. If you're serious about staying here and fighting alongside me for the sake of _all humanity as we know it,_ no more secrets okay?" Emma asked as she leaned in closer to him. Gabriel only gave her a sideways glance as he slowed his pace.

"You should know what you're getting into," Emma said as she sighed heavily. This would be harder to say out loud than she thought.

"War, Pestilence, Famine, and Death…They're the only family I have left."

Gabriel stopped walking abruptly as his eyes grew big. His mouth practically dropped to the ground as he turned to face the girl at his side.

Emma swallowed hard as she pursed her lips roughly. It seemed that she truly had taken her secret to the grave, though she didn't know why her future self never told Gabriel.

Taking a moment to grab a cigarette out of her handbag, she lit it with her fingertips and took a long, deep drag.

"I have a mother, or at least I used to. She would tell me about how Maria was 'saved by a kind man' and how we 'were chosen to be his prodigies'. The night you saved me from War back in 1871, he was trying to keep me and my sister away from reapers that where trying to help us. A lot has changed since then, but one thing remains constant..." Emma trailed off mid sentence as she prayed that Gabriel wouldn't run for the hills at her following statement.

"Death was the man who saved Maria from being a stillborn baby, but for a price. He isn't really just a Horseman to me Gabriel. He put parts of his soul inside mine… I'm technically Deaths daughter."


End file.
